I'm a Rangers daft X-Factor winner who was nutmegged by Ally McCoist and was called up by Cristiano Ronaldo
James Arthur has close ties to the Ibrox giants through his father
James Arthur's love for Rangers is well-known - and the 2012 X-Factor winner has opened up on his dream training session that saw him get embarrassed by Ally McCoist.
The 37-year-old hails from Middlesbrough and his a boyhood supporter of the English Championship side but has also been brought up adoring the Gers through his Scottish father.
And the singer-songwriter - who's debut song - a cover of 'Impossible' by Shontelle - debuted at number one on the UK Singles chart in 2012 and has since sold over 2.5million copies worldwide - has shared details of his 'kickabout' with the first team squad at Auchenhowie during McCoist's tenure as manager.
Asked in an interview with FFT about how the opportunity came about, he replied: "My security guard hooked it up. My dad is a big Rangers fan and I've grew up with him force-feeding me Rangers footage!
"I am half-Scottish, so Rangers are my second team and they invited me for a kickaround when Ally McCoist was manager.
"They planned it as a surprise for me - I'd just rolled off a tour bus, was wearing glasses and Ally megged me straight away! Magic."
Arthur has grown used to mingling with big stars from the world of football since he rose to stardom and has revealed that COVID denied him the chance of giving a personal performance for none other than Cristiano Ronaldo.
Responding to a question about famous players coming to his shows, Arthur replied:
"(Wayne) Rooney might have, and Harry Maguire, with his wife, she's a huge fan.
"Cristiano Ronaldo asked me to play at his 35th birthday party, which would have been amazing - it was going to be in Italy, when he was at Juventus.
"Then COVID happened. I was pretty gutted.
"I played at Wojciech Szczesny's wedding, and a Manchester United Christmas party.
"I had a singalong with Ryan Giggs, Rooney, all of that team - Rooney was in the front row, singing his heart out!"
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